punish me, control is more important than ever. It is
everything. It is

what I need. It is all I need. Or maybe I just need...her.

EXCERPT

Crystal’s eyes meet mine, and I know
she’s seen what I feel. My ability to hide my emotions has gone to shit, along
with my ability to deny they exist—at least where she’s concerned. I have that
sense of connection with her. It’s a vulnerable moment, and I find myself
fighting the rawness of the emotions it stirs. My cock thickens, the need for
sex and release—my way of coping with what I don’t want to exist—hitting me
hard and fast.

“We’re leaving at nine, instead of eight
thirty,” I say, walking past her to the shower. After stripping down, I open
the door to turn on the water and don’t wait for it to warm. Stepping forward,
I let the cold water wash over me and turn my back to Crystal, pressing my
hands on the wall.

“Mark.”

Her voice whispers over my nerve endings
and my body doesn’t seem to care how cold the water is. I want her. “Not now,
Ms. Smith.” I grab her shampoo and soap my hair, the damn flowery scent
surrounding me. I rinse it off but it’s too late; the scent is all over me. I
wipe water from my face, smooth my hair back, and turn to the damn wall again,
smelling roses and jasmine mixed together. Rebecca. Crystal. Confusion.

The door opens, telling me Crystal has
ignored my dismissal, but what’s new? I cut her a hard look over my shoulder.
“What part of ‘not now’ do you not understand?” I ask, my eyes traveling her
naked body, her tight little pink nipples, and I growl low in my throat with
the thickening of my cock, turning away to let my head fall forward.

“Oh dear God,” she gasps, “the water is
freezing.” In a moment the cold becomes warm, like my blood.

“Go away, Ms.—”

“Crystal,” she corrects as she ducks
under my arms to rest on the wall in front of me, her hands settling on my
chest and turning my warm blood to hot.

Grinding my teeth, I compel myself not to
touch her. “Damn it, woman. Don’t you get it? I fuck when I’m in a bad place. That’s what I do. I fuck, and I need
to fuck you right now.”

She wraps her arms around me, my erection
pressing against her hip, and it’s torture, absolute torture, not to touch her.
“Then fuck me,” she whispers.

“What part of ‘we don’t have a condom’
have you forgotten?”

“I’m on the pill.”

“And you didn’t tell me last night,” I
say, part a demand for explanation and part accusation.

“You told me you always use condoms. I
knew that made you safe for me, but I wasn’t sure you’d think it made me safe
for you.”

“How many partners?”

She blinks. “Partners? Oh. Partners. One
without a condom, and I lived with him for over a year. He was clean. I made
sure of it, and just to be clear, I’d never go without a condom for a one-night
stand. Or even several, like we were. But now you’re—”

“Moving in with you,” I say, wrapping my
fingers around her neck, pulling her mouth a breath from mine. “That means you
belong to me now.”

“No,” she says. “It means—”

My mouth slants over hers, cutting off
her words, my tongue pressing past her lips, delving deeply, possessiveness
rising in me so intense that it’s a living, breathing thing. I hate the man she
lived with. I deepen the kiss, wild hunger rising inside me, driven by darkness
and the self-blame that I’ve lived with for ten years. What am I doing with
Crystal? What the fuck am I doing?

I turn her into a corner, my hands on her
shoulders, and step back enough to loosen her grip around my waist. “You should
get me the hell out of your life, before I destroy you like I did Rebecca. Tell
me to leave.”

She laughs without humor. “Like you’d
listen?”

“Damn it, tell me to leave, Crystal,” I
demand.

“Your staying or leaving doesn’t impact
the premise of your demand, which seems to be that I have no control over
myself. That’s wrong. I decide who destroys me, not you, Mark Compton.”

“You think Rebecca didn’t say that?”

“Apparently being a Master has confused
you, or made you a little too arrogant for your own good. I have a mind of my
own.”

“That’s what she said.”

Her hands go to my arms. “And she left
you, Mark. That’s not a woman who lost her backbone or her own mind. She wasn’t
too weak to survive you and whatever you think you did to her.”

I tangle my fingers in her now damp hair.
“You don’t know everything. You were right when you said I’m an asshole. I am.”
I turn her to the wall and lean in close. “You want me to stay?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?

“Yes. I want you to stay.”

“Then you need to know who and what I am.
I’m going to spank you and it’s not going to be gentle. And in the future I
will flog you, clamp you, and torment you in ways that you have never dreamed
of. Still want me to stay?”

“Mark—”

“Do
you want me to stay?” I ask, rubbing her backside to get the blood flow
where I want it.

New York
Times and USA Today Bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones is the author of the
highly acclaimed INSIDE OUT SERIES, and is now in development by Suzanne Todd
(Alice in Wonderland) for cable TV. In addition, her Tall, Dark and Deadly
series and The Secret Life of Amy Bensen series, both spent several months on a
combination of the NY Times and USA Today lists.

Since beginning her publishing career in 2007, Lisa has
published more than 40 books translated around the world. Booklist says that
Jones suspense truly sizzles with an energy similar to FBI tales with a
paranormal twist by Julie Garwood or Suzanne Brockmann.

Prior to publishing, Lisa owned multi-state staffing
agency that was recognized many times by The Austin Business Journal and also
praised by Dallas Women Magazine. In 1998 LRJ was listed as the #7 growing
women owned business in Entrepreneur Magazine.

Lisa
loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her at on her website and she is
active on twitter and facebook daily.